


Midnights

by unbreakable13



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24981712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unbreakable13/pseuds/unbreakable13
Summary: LBD AU. During her time at Netherfield, Lizzie discovers a new side to William Darcy at midnight on his birthday.
Relationships: Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy, Lizzie Bennet/William Darcy
Comments: 49
Kudos: 371





	1. Chapter 1

It was midnight. Lizzie was tip-toeing towards William Darcy's bedroom at Netherfield. Ok, not like _that_... She was kind of just unwillingly shuffling along at the back of a group that consisted of Bing, Jane, Caroline, Darcy's sister, Gigi and a guy named Fitz. Honestly, she felt like she was an odd one out in the group... She wasn't a family member nor a close friend of Darcy. Why was she a part of his midnight birthday surprise?? Jane at least was dating a close friend. Well, she had helped Jane bake the cake that Jane was carrying... But that was only because Jane and Lizzie baking birthday cakes together has been a thing for ages and Jane had told Bing that they love doing it. Which was technically true and the two of them hadn't had a bake day in a long time. And it would have been rude to say no after Jane had already sort of told Bing and it wasn't like she would leave Jane to do it alone. So all excuses aside, in the end she had spent half the day baking a cake for William Darcy, the arrogant snob she hated. Bing had helped a bit but Caroline had promptly volunteered to take Darcy out of the house to keep the whole thing a surprise. She actually had ended up having a pretty good time with Bing and Jane. If she had to be truthful, the two of them just made sense together, you know.

Gigi and Fitz had arrived late in the night and Lizzie had avoided meeting them until about half an hour ago. She had been quite dreading the addition of another Darcy to their company, one who was spoken so highly of by Caroline and some unknown close friend. But so far, neither Fitz nor Gigi fit her picture of people that would be close to Darcy. But then again, Bing didn't fit that picture either. They all seemed like the happy, energetic sort of people who can light up a conversation... and then there was Darcy. A complete antithesis of that. How did he end up being friends with such nice people was a mystery.

But anyway, here she was standing at his door, waiting for the clock to strike midnight. She sighed quietly, hopefully they wouldn't have to stay very long. 

"It's time!" Bing whispered excitedly and then knocked loudly on the door. "Hey Darcy, can you open up? I need to talk to you about something."

"Coming..." a sleepy voice replied and then an equally sleep befuddled Darcy opened the door... A very sleep befuddled and a very shirtless Darcy. They all launched into a loud chorus of "Happy Birthday", the words to which Lizzie couldn't seem to recall. She was strangely taken aback by his shirtlessness. All those mornings in the home gym... Of course he looked so... um, fit? She realized suddenly she was fully ogling William Darcy! She tried to look somewhere else, raising her eyes to his face instead. He had blinked the sleep away and as soon as he saw Gigi, an absolutely unprecedented occurance happened. A giant warm smile spread across his face as he pulled Gigi into a bear hug. "Gigi! It's so nice to see you!"

Gigi was laughing, "Happy Birthday, William! But seriously this is weird! Put a shirt on!"

Darcy gave a laugh at that (Darcy! Laughing! What was even happening!) and let her go. Lizzie hadn't been the only one to notice the... appeal of a shirtless Darcy. Before he could move away, Caroline had quickly pushed ahead and given him a longer than necessary hug. He seemed to be getting uncomfortable and his eyes were darting across the room in search of something. She saw a shirt was hanging off the back of a nearby chair and grabbed it. When Caroline let go, she handed it to him, their eyes finally met. He uttered a genuine "Thank you" on seeing the shirt. Lizzie dumbly replied "Happy Birthday." His eyes crinkled up in a smile and he spoke with much more warmth, "Thank you."

Lizzie had to look away... A happy Darcy? She couldn't process the sight. At least he was no longer shirtless. He was now greeting Fitz and they all seemed to be in a happy little bubble until Bing gently pulled Jane who was still holding the cake to the front and put a knife in Darcy's hand. The cake was cut and everybody sang again and it was all very merry and Lizzie was still standing in a corner trying to stay invisible. That changed when Bing loudly informed Darcy, "Jane and Lizzie made the cake.. They've been at it for the whole day!" Darcy looked surprised at that and his eyes for some reason immediately snapped to hers, and not Jane's who was standing directly in front of him.

"You did?", he asked with a new note in his voice.

"Oh Jane is the baker. I... I just helped", she replied trying to sound nonchalant.

"Thanks a lot," he spoke with genuine sincerity. "And to you too." He finally turned his eyes away from Lizzie and back to Jane. Thankfully, Bing stepped between her and Darcy just then, saving her from having to look at him any longer. Lizzie successfully avoided Darcy after that by getting into a conversation with Fitz, whom she was growing to like by the minute. And eventually it felt like enough time had passed that she could leave without being rude. She loudly said good night to the whole group, tacked on a hasty birthday wish in Darcy's general direction and made her escape.

Closing her bedroom door behind her, she tried to not dwell on the strange experience she had just had. William Darcy... Guess, he wasn't a complete robot, afterall.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Lizzie left for the library before anyone else had even woken up. Partly because she had work to do and partly because she wanted to avoid being the odd one out again in that giant group around the breakfast table. She was having a fairly unremarkable morning until she got a text from an unknown number.

"Hi! It's Gigi! Hope you don't mind, I got your number from Jane. Was sorry to miss you in the morning, but we wanted to invite everyone to dinner tonight. If you don't have any plans, please join us!"

She thought about it... The invitation was from a 'we'. Who would that include? Gigi and her brother was the most logical answer to that. Well, she could say she had too much work or that she had to meet Charlotte, but she could already imagine Jane's disapproval at the obvious lie. So she resignedly replied with, "Hey... I don't have any plans. So would love to join you."

The reply came back immediately.

"Perfect! We haven't yet decided where we are going. Jane recommended a place called Il Giardino, but Caroline thinks it would be too long of a drive. Any suggestions?"

"Oh, Il Giardino is amazing! And the drive through the vineyards is half the reason behind its charm, especially this time of the year."

The reply came after a few moments. "Il Giardino it is! But we'll have to leave a little early. If you are really busy at the library, we could pick you up from there?"

That was a really thoughtful offer, kind of sweet. But there was no way she was going to Il Giardino dressed the way she was, in an incredibly old, worn out blouse and jeans. She wasn't even sure they would let her in. Il Giardino was the kind of fancy place that probably had a dress code. But the food was exquisite and so was the view. It was also very expensive, but well she would not need to drive her own car, so she was saving up on gas.

"Oh no, that's alright. I got an early start today, so I can be back around 5", she replied, hoping it sounded polite enough.

"Great! See you then!!! :)"

"See you! :)"

She put her phone down with a faint smile on her face. She liked Gigi, she decided. Gigi had this aura of innocent excitement around her that was strangely infectious. And regardless of the company, she had an evening at Il Giardino to look forward to. 

\--

The dinner went surprisingly well. She had Jane and Gigi on either side of her, the two had really hit it off during their day together at the wine tasting festival they'd all gone to. They had a near constant conversation going about everything from fashion (Gigi was hungrily absorbing in all the fashion advice she could get out of Jane) to the inner workings of the tennis world (Gigi was a nationally ranked player). Not once during the evening she felt that she was an odd one out, the fears from her morning seemed incredibly silly now. She wasn't having a good time despite the company but because of it.

The dinner went on for a lot longer than they had anticipated. With the food and the drinks and the beautiful twilit evening around them, time just flew by.

At one point during dinner, Lizzie had asked Gigi what she was currently doing. Gigi had responded with, "I'm taking some time off from University. I'm interning at Pemberly right now."

"Pemberly?"

"Yeah, Pemberly Digital."

At Lizzie's continued blank face, she has continued. "Pemberly is the company William started. He is the CEO." There was obvious pride in the way she said that.

"Sounds interesting. Why the name Pemberly?"

"Pemberly is the name of the place in England where my father's family comes from." It wasn't Gigi who responded. Before Lizzie could say anything, Darcy had added, looking a bit self conscious, "That is a little boring."

"Not at all! It adds a sense of history to a new endeavor."

"Exactly." 

There was a faint smile on his lips that Lizzie returned. But just then Caroline asked him something, making him turn away. Another opportunity to talk to him did not arise until they were all outside, waiting for the valets to bring out the cars.

Lizzie had been standing alone, a little to the side, texting Charlotte. She had looked up on hearing Darcy's voice. 

"Thanks for recommending this place. It was lovely."

He sounded stiff, like his usual self, but she guessed he was trying to be amiable. Well, she could be amiable too, at least on his birthday. "I'm glad you liked it."

Just then Gigi's car arrived and she and Fitz got into the front seats. Darcy opened the back door and for a moment it felt like he was going to ask her to join him. But Caroline rushed ahead and got into the car with a "Thanks, William."

To save herself from the awkwardness of the whole situation, she quickly walked over to where Jane and Bing were standing, without turning back to look at Darcy. Gigi had shouted out, "See you all at home!" And that's how the evening had ended. Everybody had been too sleepy by the time they got back to do anything other than going to bed.

Later in the night, despite how tired she was feeling, Lizzie couldn't sleep. She didn't want to, but she kept thinking back to those small conversations with Darcy. The man was puzzling her. She had been so sure that she knew what he was about, but did she really? Eventually, she gave up trying to sleep and got up. Maybe it was the heat keeping her up. Some iced water could help.

She walked downstairs and noticed that somebody had left a kitchen light on. But when she rounded the corner, she realized the light wasn't a mistake, somebody had turned it on. Darcy.

He stood up as soon as he noticed her.

"Hey."

He had been sitting there with his laptop and a glass of wine.

"Hey... Were you working?" Lizzie replied, trying to sound normal, unfazed.

"Yes, just a few things I wasn't able to get to during the day."

"Well, you could take a break on your birthday, you know." See! It was fine. She could talk.

He gave her half a smile and just shrugged, closing the lid on his laptop.

"Um... I just wanted to get some iced water." She pointed to the fridge unnecessarily.

"How about some wine instead?" He asked, gesturing towards his glass.

She couldn't read his expression... But wine sounded perfect actually. And it would be rude to say no on his birthday. "Yeah, wine would work too."

He got up and poured her a glass, refilling his own as well. She sat down on the kitchen stool opposite his and took a sip. Damn... This was some good wine. Must have cost more than she wanted to imagine.

"Were you up working as well?"

"Yeah, I was." Now, she couldn't really say she had been lying in bed thinking about him, could she!

"Oh, I hope I'm not keeping you."

"Na... It's pretty late, I couldn't get anything more done."

"Yeah, I know that feeling."

There was a lull in the conversation. She took another sip from her glass. 

"So...um...", he started to speak. He rarely hesitated when speaking, lateness of the hour seemed to be getting to him as well.

"Yeah...", she said in a questioning voice, asking him to continue.

"I was thinking about what you said about Tolstoy."

"Tolstoy?"

"Yes. You said that Tolstoy thought that Shakespeare was a poor dramatist."

"I did."

Unexpected choice of topic. But sure, why not. They could talk about Tolstoy if that's what he wanted to discuss late at night, over some wine. So that's what they did. Discussed Tolstoy. She had no idea for how long. She wasn't sure if he countered all her points because he actually disagreed or just for the sake of offering a contrary view point. She wasn't a complete stranger to the latter approach and it did make for a more interesting conversation than if they were to agree on everything. So she just went along without it, arguing passionately as was natural for her.

After a particularly long speech by her defending some minor points of her argument, his response was simply, "Alright, I give up. You have convinced me my earlier opinion was incorrect." He raised his nearly empty glass to her. 

Well, this was another first. Darcy accepting that he was incorrect about something. "I will accept that victory with utmost pride." She clinked her glass to his, beaming at him and took a giant swig.

A silence followed, the conversation dying down with that first topic of discussion. He spoke first. "Listen, I have to thank you again for the cake." 

"No really, it's not a big...", she started to say.

"Still...", he said, making her pause. "I haven't had a home made cake on my birthday since... Since my parents passed away."

Oh... She hadn't known that. That his parents had passed away. It had never come up. That explained the kind of relationship he had with his sister. It had been clear that they cared for each other deeply, but more than that. To Gigi, he was probably not just a brother but a sort of parent as well.

He wasn't looking at her anymore, but at his own hand on the table. She wondered how long ago it had happened, if he'd been really young. It was sad to think about such a fate befalling anyone, let alone this man who always seemed to carry this sense of invincibility about him. She wished she could do more than just offering the generic words you were supposed to say in situations like these. 

But before she could come up with anything, he cleared his throat and the light returned to his eyes. "Gigi tried once."

"Baking a cake?"

He was positively smiling now, she was relieved to see. "Yeah... She was around 15. I'm not sure what she did but we nearly had to call the fire department."

Lizzie laughed... "That sounds familiar. When Lydia was 12 she really wanted to help me and Jane with our Dad's birthday cake and she ended up setting fire to my hair. It may have been on purpose though."

"Oh god, were you ok?!"

"Oh yes, it was fine... she emptied a pitcher of water over my head."

Darcy laughed. And then there was just... a moment. Both of them silent, traces of fading smiles on their faces, staring at one another.

Lizzie cleared her throat, looking down at the glass in her hand, surprised to find that it was already empty. "Um.. so I guess I'll head to bed now", she said getting off the kitchen stool. She was suddenly feeling uneasy. 

"Yeah... It's pretty late."

She deposited her glass in the dish washer and turned around to find Darcy sitting there with another unreadable expression, staring at her intently. 

"So... I'll go... Happy Birthday again."

He smiled. (Damn! She was really growing to like the sight of a smiling Darcy.) "Thanks. Although, I think it's past midnight now. Good night, Lizzie."

"Good night!" She gave him a weird wave sort of a thing and walked out of the kitchen as fast as was gracefully possible. 

What! Even! Had! Just! Happened!

She was feeling light headed. Some of it was all the alcohol in her system, but some of it might have been the fact that she had just spent a good amount of time sharing some pretty good wine and a pretty good conversation with a pretty attractive guy. But that guy was Darcy! Darcy! She needed to sleep off whatever she was feeling. Immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The small conversation about Pemberly is taken directly from one of a LBD video, just put in a new context.  
> And the thing with Tolstoy was a conversation Darcy was trying to have with Lizzie before they were interrupted by Wickham. So I'm imagining if Lizzie genuinely decided to participate in that conversation she would have actually enjoyed it.  
> Also, a little behind the scenes: Gigi mentions that Lizzie likes the place Jane suggested and there's no way Darcy wants to go anywhere else after hearing that.  
> Hope you enjoyed reading this!


	3. Chapter 3

Lizzie woke up a little late the next morning. And her first thought had been did I just dream all that? But even her imagination could not have made _that_ up. When finally she made her way downstairs, the kitchen was full. As soon as she entered, Bing loudly exclaimed, "Lizzie! We're having a Sunday barbeque brunch by the pool! I hope you can take a day off from the library."

Before she had time to even respond, Gigi had added "Yeah, do stay! Fitz and I are leaving in the afternoon. Spend this morning with us." Followed by an adorable little "Please" at the end.

"Oh, of course. The library will be here tomorrow." She had replied with a smile. Lizzie would actually be sad to see the two of them leave. Their presence had made things a lot more fun around here. So a relaxing morning by the pool in their company genuinely sounded like a great idea. 

Having settled that, Lizzie proceeded to the kitchen counter to make herself some toast.

"Coffee?" 

Just the sound of his voice took her back to last night. This same kitchen... dim lighting... glasses of wine... She looked to her left, where Darcy was standing, holding the coffee pot, the question still in his eyes.

"Yes, please." She gave him a small smile, which he returned. All very normal, or appeared to be at least. He took out a coffee mug and began pouring. Lizzie busied herself with the toast. 

"Cream?" He asked without looking at her.

"Yes, a little." She replied without looking back.

"Sugar?"

"Half a spoon."

A minute passed in silence. He put the coffee mug in front of her without a word and seemed to be about to leave when Lizzie suddenly said, "Hey, do you want one?" She held out the toast she had just buttered.

He looked down at her hand and took the toast. "Yes, thanks." And then he walked back to the table.

Had that been weird? To offer someone a toast without a plate or anything? Her mom would say it was improper manners, but he hadn't seemed to mind. He was already eating it, sitting at the table. 

Lizzie suddenly realized she should not be staring at his mouth. She mentally shook herself and carried her breakfast to the table. After settling down, another realization hit her. The two of them were sitting at the same exact spots as last night. She looked up at him without thinking and he was staring right back. She snapped her eyes back down, and immediately regretted that decision. Shit! She should have acted normal, said something. Not looked away as if she'd been caught doing something wrong. And why the hell was she overthinking all of this!

She quietly gobbled down her breakfast without really tasting it. And she was glad when Darcy became one one of the group who were going to out to buy the things for the barbeque. She succeeded in not looking at him even once as she declined the offer to join them and made her way back to her room. Her plan to sleep off the feelings she had experienced last night certainly hadn't worked. If anything, the opposite seemed to have happened.

\--

Later in the morning, Lizzie found herself lounging by the pool in the only swim suit she had packed. It wasn't a very nice one but she couldn't do anything about it now. She was no longer sure that it had been a good idea to cancel the library plan. When Bing had said pool, she should have known swimsuits would be involved. And no, she wasn't talking about herself.

Darcy. In his swimming trunks. Doing laps in the pool. She had been trying not to stare. But really, how much self control could a woman have, when he was out there, displaying himself like that! She had no idea, how he had gone from being absolutely insufferable to being... well, still insufferable, but in a completely different manner.

She welcomed the distraction when Gigi and Caroline walked over to the lounge chairs next to hers. She turned to her side with the excuse of being able to talk to them more easily, with the added advantage of not having Darcy in her direct line of view anymore. What had been interesting to note was the dynamic between Gigi and Caroline. The two were always friendly with each other but they didn't seem anywhere close to the intimate friends that Caroline had always made them sound like. Lizzie guessed that Caroline was trying to wish that intimacy into existence. Caroline didn't realise it, but she was so transparent.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of someone stepping out of the pool behind her. She turned around to see a drenched Darcy walking towards her. No, wait. Not towards her, that didn't make sense. He was walking towards them, or in their general direction, or just towards the lounge chairs... He was shaking some of the water out of his hair, drops of water dripping down his face onto his chest, down his body, towards... He was so near now and then he bent down and picked the towel lying on the the chair next to hers and yes, that made sense. He was walking towards a towel. He started wiping himself off and that was something she didn't need to see. She lied down on her back and closed her eyes. She was going to relax, not think of anything and you know, just bask in the sun. But instead she found herself wondering what would it be like if Darcy had indeed been walking towards her...? Oh god! How was she going to deal with this...

The morning slowly turned to afternoon. And once Darcy had put on a t-shirt, Lizzie found it a lot easier to have a good time. Eventually, it was time for Gigi and Fitz to go pack for the trip back. And slowly, everybody made their way back inside. 

Lizzie was sitting with Jane in the living room when Gigi arrived with Darcy in tow, who was carrying her bag.

"So we're leaving now. Fitz is taking the car out of the garage." Gigi said.

"We'll see you out", Jane replied. And the four of them made their way to the front of the house. 

Gigi hugged Jane and Lizzie goodbye. "If either of you are ever in San Francisco, please let me know! I hope I see you again soon."

"I hope so too."

"And maybe you both can visit here again."

"We'll sure try, Lizzie B!" Fitz had replied, who had come out of the car to say goodbye as well. While he was talking with the others, Lizzie silently observed Darcy and Gigi. The two shared a long hug.

"Take care of yourself, alright. Call me if there's anything."

"I will. I'll miss you, William."

"I'll miss you too."

It was sweet, the way Gigi kept waving back through her window as they drove off. Darcy stood on the curb and waved back until the car rounded a corner.

There was a definite lowering of the energy level in the house after that. Caroline wanted to go out in the evening but Lizzie excused herself, she was heading out to meet Charlotte. Charlotte had been so busy lately that the two hardly saw each other. She left the house while Jane, Bing and Caroline were still sitting in the living room, trying to decide what to do for the rest of the day. Darcy wasn't there. 

Lizzie and Charlotte hung out in their favorite cafe on campus. Halfway through their conversation about how their week had been, Charlotte remarked that Lizzie wasn't doing her usual Darcy bashing. Lizzie managed to brush it off and changed the topic to something safer. But it made her wonder, did she really do a lot of "Darcy bashing" usually? Well, she couldn't deny it. She did. And now she felt guilty about it. She didn't really know the guy that well, did she? She shouldn't have been bad mouthing him that way, even if it was just in front of Charlotte.

When she came back to Netherfield, the house was quiet. There was noone in the living room or the kitchen. They'd probably all gone out. She wasn't one to begrudge some alone time, so she grabbed a book from the library and headed to her room.

\--

She woke up with a start. She didn't know when she had fallen asleep. She was still dressed, the book she had been reading lying open near her head. She looked at her phone.... 11:37 pm. And two texts from Jane.

"Hey... Just wanted to let you know we are going out for dinner. I made you some pasta. It's in the fridge."

Followed by another one, roughly an hour later.

"Lydia just called. The house is ready to move back in. We can get back tomorrow morning, if you like."

She would like to move back tonight! But yes, she realized packing up and leaving at midnight would not be a nice way of thanking Bing for the giant favor he had done them. So tomorrow morning then! Finally, some good news!

Her stomach rumbled loudly. She hadn't eaten anything since that meagre sandwich at the cafe. Jane was an absolute angel. Even when going out, she worried that her 24 year old little sister would not be able to feed herself. Lizzie smiled and started making her way down to the kitchen. She was walking absentmindedly, when suddenly she realized something. The kitchen light was on. 

No... This couldn't be happening. She refused to accept it. She felt a weird mix of anticipation and dread. She reached the kitchen entrance and yup... There he was. Darcy. Sitting at the kitchen table. With his laptop and a glass of wine. Just like last night. 

For a moment, Lizzie honestly considered fleeing back to her room. But her stomach gave another loud rumble, loud enough that Darcy looked up. 

"Oh... Hey."

"Hey." Lizzie replied, slowly making her way into the kitchen. "You're working still?"

"Yeah. The work never stops."

He seemed friendly enough. Nothing to be scared of, she told herself firmly. She started walking towards the fridge, "I'm just grabbing dinner. Don't let me disturb you."

"You didn't have dinner?" 

"Yeah, I accidentally fell asleep", Lizzie replied while taking out the absolutely giant container of pasta Jane had prepared. "Do you want some pasta?" She turned back and asked Darcy. Just well... to be polite.

"Oh no, that's alright. You're the one who hasn't had dinner."

"Just look at the size of this. There's no way I can eat all this on my own."

"Actually...", he bagan.

"I insist."

Lizzie knew that she had gone from wanting-to avoid-him-so-badly- that-she-was-willing-to-skip-dinner-despite-being-ravenous to now literally-begging-him-to-join-her-for-that-same-meal very quickly. It made no sense. But she did not have the time to process all of this right now.

"Alright then." He smiled, pushing his laptop to the side. "If you insist."

The look on his face made Lizzie feel all jittery inside. Maybe this is what people meant when they said butterflies but this felt far more chaotic than the word butterflies implied. She put the pasta in the microwave and took out two plates and cutlery. Darcy had gotten up as well, and was filling two glasses of wine. Neither of them said anything until they were both sitting at the table with their food and drinks. It was staring to feel weird. She had to change that.

"Hi", she spoke brightly, hiding whatever else she had been feeling.

He gave a small laugh, and replied with a smile as well, "Hi."

"So how was your evening?" She was determined to keep this conversation flowing.

"Nothing special. I had work to do."

"I thought you all went out?"

"The others did. I didn't."

"Oh..." So if she hadn't fallen asleep, they could have had spent the evening together... But he'd been busy. "Your work couldn't wait?" 

He paused. "Hmm... I didn't have any urgent work actually. I just didn't..."

And then he just stopped speaking, looking away from her. "What?"

"Nothing." He was now looking at his plate, still not at her.

"You can't just leave a sentence hanging like that."

He huffed out a sigh, and still without looking at her said, "I didn't... I just couldn't handle Caroline's... energy tonight."

For a moment, she just stared at him, and then she couldn't help it. She started laughing uncontrollably. His head snapped up, "What?"

He was looking so confused, it made her want to laugh even harder. But she paused enough to say, "Don't you find this funny?"

He still looked confused. "What should I find funny?"

Lizzie considered the situation, "I guess, it's not that funny from your point of view." She paused, "Do you end up having to handle Caroline's... energy often?"

He looked uncomfortable, "Um... Yeah, sometimes."

So he wasn't gonna give anything away. "You don't have to feel so guilty for trying to avoid someone if you don't enjoy their company."

He sighed. "I know." And then after a small pause, added, "I don't like talking about someone behind their back."

Oops... That was something she should really learn. There was silence for a moment while they ate.

"So I heard you'll be moving back to your home tomorrow?"

"Oh yes, we are." Lizzie had actually forgotten all about being able to move out of Netherfield. She had been desperately waiting to hear this piece of news for days, and then Darcy had simply made her forget about it completely. 

He just nodded at her reply. Lizzie wondered... After tomorrow... What would this be like? She wouldn't see him often. And even when she did, it would always be with other people around. That didn't... feel right, like she would be missing out on something. They continued to eat in silence, he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

"So, listen..." He spoke slowly, after a while.

She met his gaze. "Yeah..."

"Would you like to have dinner with me sometime this week?"

"What?"

"If you have time... I thought we could..." He let the sentence hang in the air between them.

"Are you... Are you asking me out on a date?", she asked with such disbelief coloring her voice, that suddenly he didn't look quiet as calm. But he straightened his back and looking right into her eyes said, "Yes, I am."

Lizzie couldn't understand this... At all. "But why?"

He actually smiled at that. "You should know why."

"Because I'm barely tolerable?"

For a moment he just looked confused, and then Lizzie saw it in his eyes, the moment he realized. That she had heard him that day. His smile vanished. Neither of them spoke until Lizzie thought she should explain.

"Charlotte got sick, I was with her behind some bushes. We weren't trying to eavesdrop."

Darcy still looked stricken, but he finally uttered, "I was such an idiot."

She didn't know what to say to that, so she didn't say anything.

"Lizzie... Really I am extremely sorry about that. I wasn't thinking when I said that."

"I thought you didn't talk behind people's backs." She knew it felt like she was attacking him, but now that she had started, she couldn't stop.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, his brows furrowed. He stayed like that for a minute. "Ok, I'll be honest." He opened his eyes. "I had no wish of attending a wedding where I knew nobody but Bing forced me to come. I just wanted to leave. I didn't want to socialize, least of all with you. Because I felt I'd embarrassed myself enough in front of you during that terrible dance. And the easiest way to get Bing to leave you alone, is to act like a dick. So that's what I did. I did it at your expense, without thinking or considering my words. For that I am deeply sorry."

What was she supposed to say back to this speech? Was she mad about what he had said back then? Not anymore. Had she misjudged Darcy largely based on that one moment? Maybe more than she should have. So where did this leave her? She didn't know. But she spoke anyway, "Alright. I can accept that apology. But... I still don't get it. Why are you asking me out?"

Darcy seemed to have relaxed at her accepting his apology. But he still replied carefully, "Um... Because I'd like to spend more time with you."

"So like... You just changed your mind about me in the last three days and -"

Darcy gave a humorless laugh at that, interrupting her mid-sentence. 

"Not three days... I don't... I don't know since when."

This was... unexpected. Lizzie stared down at her plate, trying to quickly go through all her previous interactions with him. Had he ever shown any interest in her before? Why had she never noticed it?!

Darcy was waiting for a reply, but when none came, he continued quietly. "You can think about it. I would understand if you say no."

Lizzie thought about it. For about five seconds.

"Day after tomorrow at 7:30, then?"

He seemed surprised by the sudden change in her demeanor, but he managed to stutter out. "Yeah... Yes. That sounds good."

"Alright then." She stood up from the table. "Good night, Darcy." And then she literally fleed back to her bed, without even bothering to clear out her dinner things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a super long chapter and took forever to write. Hope you'll enjoy it!


	4. Chapter 4

It had been ten days since Lizzie moved out of Netherfield. And in these ten days, she had been on two dates with William Darcy. Today was supposed to be the third. Obviously, all of this was... extremely unexpected. Everthing between her and William had changed so suddenly. See... Even the way she addressed him in her mind had changed. She didn't really know how she felt about it... But well, in a way she did know how she felt about it.

It just felt good. 

It felt good to spend time with someone who was genuinely interesting. With whom she could have worthwhile conversations. Somebody who was thoughtful, had his opinions and expressed them openly, just like she did. He was intelligent and just knew a lot about a lot. And now that she had let go of her previous prejudices against him, she could see all the qualities that she had been blind to, like he never interrupted you in a middle of a discussion even if he disagreed with your point. That made him such a good listener, and Lizzie, who loved to talk, would always appreciate good listening skills.

Obviously, it was more than just that. He had pretty much told her that he had liked her for a significant amount of time. That was something, wasn't it? When was the last time a sensible, successful, attractive guy had shown interest in her? And it was not hard to imagine that he probably had plenty of options.

Her own feelings regarding him were... unclear. First, there was the regret. She had spent so much energy hating him, when she could have had months to get to know him better. The more she found out, the more it was clear that he was not the guy she had thought him to be at all. Yes, he was serious most of the time, didn't really talk to people that much, preferred the company of his laptop over everyone else and rarely smiled in company. But those weren't character flaws. He just needed time to get comfortable around new people and was really dedicated to his job. He could obviously improve upon his social skills, but again. Not a character flaw. Also, she was selfishly worried that someday, somehow he might hear of all the incredibly mean things she had said about him. Thankfully, all of her rants occurred in front of her sisters or Charlotte, people she could trust (even Lydia, who was just happy that Lizzie was no longer "perpetually single"). But imagine if there existed a video recording of everything she had said and somehow he saw it! These were the wild flights of imagination that haunted her. 

When she had first agreed to go out with him, she hadn't given herself time to consider all this on purpose. She had needed to be spontaneous at that moment. But afterwards... Up until he was picking her up a block away from her home two days later, she had been nervous. She had thought and re-thought about their situation and it had started making less and less sense, until she had seen him there. All history aside, she owed it to herself to give this a fair chance.

And once they had gotten past the initial awkwardness, the evening hadn't been that different from their midnight conversations around the Netherfield kitchen table. So when the evening had ended, it had been her who had said, "We could do this again sometime." 

And now they were going on a third date. Something she had been really looking forward to since Friday evening. She had gone to dinner with Jane, at Netherfield. Caroline had managed to sit between her and William the entire evening. She had never been a fan of Caroline, but that night she had honestly felt like strangling her. Her mood had been alleviated when she had caught William starting at Caroline with a murderous expression of his own. So she had sent him a quick text.

"We could bury her out back."

She had been rewarded a few moments later by him letting out a guffaw of a laugh that he unsuccessfully tried to stifle. Caroline had become immediately intrigued. 

"What? What is it?"

"Nothing. Just a friend with a good sense of humor." He had been trying to arrange his face into its usual impassive state when she had caught his eye with raised eyebrows and he had failed at the endeavor. 

Later in the evening when she had been returning to the living room from the washroom, he had met her halfway.

"Hey."

"Hi." She replied with a smile.

"How's your evening going?"

"Good. How about you?"

"Good, but could be better."

She could imagine what he meant by that. She felt a blush creep up her face. He spoke after a brief pause.

"Would you be free on Sunday evening?"

"I believe so."

"Would you like to spend it with me?"

"I would like that."

"Perfect."

For a moment they just stood there, staring at each other. And then very deliberately he stepped forward and placed a barely there kiss on her cheek followed by half whispered words.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

He quickly walked away after that, leaving Lizzie speechless in the middle of the hallway. When she had finally made her way back to the living room, it had been time to leave already. She hadn't gotten a chance to speak to him after that.

The wait till Sunday evening had felt unbearably long. And when finally she was getting dressed and watching time slowly creep up to 7:30 pm, she had received a call from him.

"Hey, I am so sorry. The delay with the app release still hasn't been resolved. My meeting is going to run much longer than expected."

"Oh, so you'll be late then?" She had tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

"Yeah, but I am not sure what time I'll be free. It would be better if we reschedule."

"Oh, alright."

"I am really sorry, Lizzie."

Well... it was what it was. "It's ok." She tried to sound reassuring, both for his sake and her own. "Let's talk after you're free, okay?"

"Okay."

There was a pause and it felt like he was going to say something more. But then he changed his mind and just said, "Talk to you soon."

"Yeah, talk to you soon."

She sat back down on her bed after hanging up. It was fine... Maybe she could see him tomorrow. She picked up the book she had been reading and tried to get back into it. But gave up almost immediately and called Charlotte.

\--

"Don't look so lovelorn." 

"I am not lovelorn!" Lizzie smacked her best friend's arm as she responded. It was a few hours later, pretty late in the night and they were at Carter's. She would not accept this even in front of Charlotte, but she had been more upset than she ought to be about the cancelled plans with William. And she hadn't wanted to spend the evening alone.

"So do you know when you'll see him next?"

"No... Not yet."

"And right there... That's what lovelorn looks like."

"Charlotte! Stop it!"

"Fine... I'll stop. But you have to stop holding out on me."

Lizzie gave her a blank stare and Charlotte stared right back until Lizzie gave in and accepted defeat.

"Okay.. okay. What do you want to know?"

Charlotte gave her a winning smile and said, "So a third date. That means you're officially dating, right?"

"The third date hasn't happened yet."

"Oh, but it will." 

"I don't know", Lizzie said, after a pause.

"What do you mean? He said he wants to reschedule."

"No, I meant... The third date will happen probably. But I dont know if we're really dating."

"Do you want to?"

Did she want to date William Darcy? Absolutely yes. There was no doubt about that now.

"Yeah... I think so."

"Then why do you look so sad about it."

Lizzie sighed. "Because it makes me feel like an absolute idiot. You all told me that he wasn't that bad, but I didn't want to listen."

"Hmm... Yes, you were pretty idiotic about it. But that's all in the past now, why think about it."

"I know... But-"

She was distracted by a text popping up on her phone, from William Darcy.

"Hi"

She quickly typed a reply, "Hi! Meeting over?"

The reply was quick. "Yeah, it just ended now. I'm really sorry about tonight. I cancelled so last minute."

"It's ok... Charlotte came to my rescue." On second thoughts, she added a winking emoji to the end of that, she didn't want to sound sad.

"Hope you are having a good evening then."

"Yeah, it's good. But it could be better."

She hoped that would make him smile. She looked up from her phone towards Charlotte, who was looking at her expectantly.

"Would you mind if I invited him to join us? His meeting is over."

"How much would you hate me if I said I do mind?"

Lizzie smacked Charlotte's arm again, which just made her laugh. "Go ahead, call him over. I can't bear all this lovelorn-ness anymore."

Lizzie rolled her eyes and typed another text. "If you're up to it, you can join us at Carter's."

It took a minute for the reply to come. 

"That would be great. I'll see you in 15?"

"Okay!" She sent the response and then spoke to Charlotte, "He'll be here in 15 minutes."

Charlotte raised her eyebrows, "Woah, somebody's in a hurry to see you."

"It does appear so." She copied Charlotte's tone perfectly. And then, they both dissolved into a fit of laughter. And just like that, Lizzie wasn't feeling lovelorn anymore. 

And fifteen minutes later when she spotted William entering through the door and looking around searching for her, she felt like this truly couldn't be happening. She tried waving to him, but he still didn't spot her. She got up from the table and walked to him hurriedly.

"Hey!"

At the sound of her voice, he turned towards her immediately. And then the widest smile spread across his face... It reminded her of the way he had smiled that night on his birthday, when he had seen Gigi... He walked over to her and without saying anything, placed a light kiss on her cheek, like he had on Friday evening. Lizzie felt her face turning red... She felt self conscious, Charlotte had probably seen them. But she forgot all about it when she looked back at him and he was still wearing that same smile.

"Hi", he finally spoke.

Lizzie couldn't help but smile back. "Hi. C'mon... Our table is this way."

She led him back to that table where Charlotte was sitting with an amused smile on her face. Darcy greeted her and the two shared some usual pleasantries... But Lizzie was too busy staring at the faint hints of a stubble that were visible around his chin as he spoke. She wanted to run her fingers over it...

She was startled out of her reverie when Charlotte suddenly stood up. "Well, I'll be going now."

"Oh, please don't leave on my account," William immediately replied.

Charlotte laughed, "No, no... Now that you're here, I can go home and sleep without losing out on good best friend points."

She waved good bye to them both and made her way out. Once she was gone, Lizzie turned to William and said, "Do you want a drink? Or do you want to go outside to somewhere quieter?"

"Some queit would be great right now."

"Ok... How about a walk?"

"Perfect."

\--

They had been walking together in silence for a while... It was a comfortable silence, it suited the quiet night, the empty streets... When she looked over at him, he seemed to be distracted, staring down at the sidewalk as he walked, with a faint frown creasing his forehead.

"What's bothering you?", she asked softly.

He looked up at that, as if suddenly coming back to his surroundings. 

"Oh, I am sorry. First, I cancelled and now I'm being terrible company."

"No, it's alright. The meeting didn't go well?"

"Yeah... No. I mean the meeting went as well as it could. But it's just..." He paused before continuing, "... getting hard to manage work without being present at the office."

"Oh... I can imagine that." Did that mean he would need to go back?

"I need to go back. To resolve this app delay issue. I'll have to leave tomorrow."

"Oh... so soon?"

He turned to her and nodded. He tried to hold her gaze but Lizzie turned her eyes back towards the side walk, afraid that her face would betray too much of her true emotions. He was leaving... Tomorrow. Silence fell again as the two of them walked on... But now, the silence didn't feel as comfortable to her as before.

He cleared his throat. "So... Will you be free next Saturday?" 

"Why?" She looked at him sideways, not sure why he would bother asking that.

"Because I need to make it up to you for today."

"But you're leaving tomorrow."

"It's not that far. I can be back on Saturday." He gave half a shrug, as if it was no big deal.

"It is a little far." More than a little actually. "You'd travel that much just for one evening?"

"I mean..." He stopped walking, turning towards her. She did the same. "If you're free on Sunday as well...?"

Finally, Lizzie smiled. "Is that your plan? Weekdays at the office, weekends here?"

He smiled as well. "That would be good for my work-life balance, something I've been told I should work on."

She let out a small laugh at that. "Sounds like a good plan to me." And as she looked into his warm eyes, she realized it really was this simple. She stepped closer to him... Close enough that he only had to lean down a little bit to touch his lips to hers. Their lips brushed softly against each other. Warmth spread in Lizzie's chest, down to her toes. She inched even closer, kissing him more deeply. He reciprocated by wrapping his arms around her waist securely. It was strange how comforting this felt... Yeah he was leaving, but he'd be back soon... just to see her.

The kiss ended just as it had started... Slowly. For a moment, Lizzie just stood there, here eyes closed, a faint smile on her lips... The strength of his arms around her body... The feel of his warm breath caressing her face... She wanted to experience those for just a moment longer. When she opened her eyes, he gave her a shy smile. It made him look so much younger. And she thought about all the sides of him she was yet to discover... Wouldn't it wonderful to uncover each one, one after the other? She gave him a quick peck on the lips and then taking his hand in hers started walking again.

A silence stretched between the two again... But this time, the silence was more than just comfortable... It was electric, punctuated by side along glances and bashful smiles... With hands held tightly, they continued their walk through the lonely night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally complete! This took a long while!  
> I'm pretty much posting it without a final read through, so I might change a few things in the next couple of days.  
> Hope you enjoyed reading this story!


End file.
